spicy cinnamon stew

Man, these cold temperatures have been brutal. Houses in my area weren't meant to be in such frigid weather. It's like that movie The Day After Tomorrow, where NYC is frozen and the library is freezing. That's all I remember from that movie I watched in 10th grade AP chemistry class after the AP exams. 

A stew, especially a spicy one at that, is perfect for these obscenely cold days. This one just happens to use cinnamon and cinnamon soda(Pepsi Fire) to warm you right up!

Well, this stew wasn't Mexican restaurant spicy, it was more like very mild salsa spicy. But it was definitely hot. Pepsi Fire soda was big a few months ago and when you pour it into a cup, it looks like dark lager but then when you pour it into the pot, the pot starts to look like blood or red wine. Artificial colors in mass-produced sodas do some pretty weird s**t to stews, like removing the yellow color of yellow beets.

The reason I used a medley of carrots and yellow beets is that I found those at Trader Joe's when I visited right after Christmas. Yellow beets are interesting in that they brown quickly once you cut them, just like an apple. I always love trying new vegetables. 

Of all the beans I've used in my stews, I think kidney beans are the least hardy because most of them broke in half during the simmering process. 

My dad didn't know what to make of this stew but he did say it would warm him up on extra cold winter days like these.

Makes 4 servings

You will need 

For the cooking equipment: 

A large saucepot with lid

For the stew: 

14 oz. carrots(I used a mixture of orange, yellow, and purple carrots)
6 oz. yellow beets(regular beets will work too)
15 oz. drained, white kidney beans
2 cups cinnamon soda(I used Pepsi Fire soda)
2 cups stock(I used beef stock)
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of salt

1 Put all the ingredients into the large saucepot and mix all the ingredients up. 
2. Bring the stew to a boil on the stove. Once the stew is boiling, put the lid on the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. 
3. Let the stew simmer for 45 minutes and let it cool off for an additional 10 minutes. 

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